Celtics putting finishing touches on roster

Basketball Betting Lines

08/14/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All-Stars Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are not the only players on Boston's roster, and that trio will need some help if the Celtics hope to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987.

Guards Tony Allen, Rajon Rondo, forward Brian Scalabrine and center Kendrick Perkins were the significant players left on the roster after Boston's executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge pulled off the blockbuster deal with Minnesota for Garnett. Since trading Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, cash considerations and two first-round draft picks to the Timberwolves on July 31st, Ainge has added veterans Scot Pollard and Eddie House through free agency.

The 32-year-old Pollard will be entering his 11th season in the league. Boston is his fifth different team, as Pollard has also played for Detroit, Sacramento, Indiana and Cleveland. Pollard is not expected to make an impact on the offensive end of the court, as his forte is rebounding and tough, physical defense.

House, 29, is being tabbed to provide an offensive spark off the bench for head coach Doc Rivers. The 6-1 House can play both guard spots, and will give Rivers some flexibility with his lineup. House, who averaged 8.4 points in 56 games last season for New Jersey, will be playing for his eighth different club during what will be his eighth season in the NBA.

With Pollard and House in the fold, Ainge still needs to find more help for his trio of All-Stars. Trades are unlikely. Help is going to have to come from the free agent pool.

There is not much left, but there are some veterans who would probably like to jump on the bandwagon for a run at an NBA title. Boston needs to find another big man to help on the boards. That is probably the one thing the Celtics are lacking. Scoring is not an issue.

Forwards Malik Allen, Melvin Ely and Marc Jackson are three names Ainge should be considering. None of these players are going to be the difference between winning a title and getting knocked out in the Eastern Conference finals, but they are all veterans who can bang down low and should be able to help Garnett, Perkins and Pollard on the glass.

The time to win is now in Beantown. The Celtics are not looking to get younger. Ainge wants to add role players who will help the fearsome threesome earn Boston its first NBA championship since it defeated the Houston Rockets in six games in the 1986 finals.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

It seemed like the perfect fit. Veteran point guard Brevin Knight, who was waived by Charlotte during the offseason, was an unrestricted free agent and would have been a great mentor for Rondo in Boston.

Knight is now off the market. He inked a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, who must be worried about the recovery of Shaun Livingston's injured knee. The 5-10 Knight averaged 9.1 points, 6.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 45 games for the Bobcats in 2006-07.

The 21-year-old Rondo averaged 6.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 78 games during his rookie campaign. Rondo, who is expected to run the point for the Celtics, would have benefited from the experience and leadership of Knight.

THREE MORE YEARS

Pat Riley would like to coach the Miami Heat for three more seasons. Coincidentally, that is probably about what All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal's knees have left to give. The 35-year-old O'Neal played just 40 games in 2006-07 for the Heat, who were swept by Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.

Shaq and Dwyane Wade may still have another magical run left in them, but it will all ride on the health of O'Neal. Riley, who has earned five rings as a head coach, obviously thinks Wade, who led Miami in scoring, a franchise- record 27.4 points per game, assists (7.5 apg) and steals (2.1 spg), and his monstrous center can still compete with Boston, Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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